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Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP220226S
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00:12 ♪♪ >>...how in our Christian 00:15 walk we sometimes lean on these everlasting arms, and then when 00:19 we finally see the connection with God, and then the next day, 00:23 two steps forward, four steps back, we're right back where we 00:27 started. But aren't you so glad that we 00:31 serve a wonderful Savior who's willing to pick us back up no 00:36 matter how far we've fallen and just show us undeserving mercy? 00:44 [ "Lord Have Mercy" begins ] 04:44 [ "Goodness of God" begins ] 05:36 >> Please join us and stand as we sing. 08:51 >> Amen. Amen. Go ahead. 08:58 ♪♪ So this next song is very 09:01 personal to me. It's a new tune to "'Tis So 09:04 Sweet to Trust in Jesus." We all know that familiar song, 09:08 right? And I think it's interesting 09:10 that it says "'tis." It means "it is" so sweet to 09:14 trust in Jesus. 09:16 I know, for me, sometimes I wonder, is it really that sweet? Like, is God really going to not 09:22 let me down? But I've seen in my own life, and I believe in this song 09:29 really captures this idea that it is sweet to trust in Jesus, and I pray that you'll have that 09:36 same experience going into this next week. And as we start, I'll sing the 09:40 first verse by myself so you can listen to the new melody. 09:47 Pray with me. [ "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in 09:51 Jesus" begins ] 13:19 >> You may be seated. >> Thank you for singing. 13:30 ♪♪ >> ♪ The Lord 13:43 ♪ The Lord is my shepherd ♪ The Lord ♪ The Lord is my shepherd 14:22 ♪ The Lord is my shepherd ♪ I shall not want ♪ The Lord is my shepherd 14:39 ♪ I shall not want ♪ He leads me beside, beside still waters ♪ 14:56 ♪ He restores my soul 15:12 ♪ He leads me in paths of righteousness ♪ ♪ He leads me in paths of 15:26 righteousness ♪ ♪ For His name's sake ♪ His name's sake 15:50 ♪ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ♪ 16:06 ♪ I will fear no evil ♪ For You are with me 16:24 ♪ Your rod and staff, they comfort me ♪ 16:48 ♪ You prepare a table for me 17:00 ♪ In the presence of my enemies ♪ ♪ You anoint my head, 17:15 my head with oil ♪ ♪ My cup overflows 17:38 ♪ Surely love and goodness ♪ Will follow me ♪ All the days 18:01 ♪ Of my life ♪ And I will dwell in the house of the Lord ♪ 18:23 ♪ Forever ♪ Forever ♪ Forever 18:47 ♪ Forever ♪ Amen ♪ Amen 19:29 >> Amen. >> Amen. >> Amen. 19:32 >> Amen. 19:40 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 20:06 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 20:32 ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ 20:57 ♪♪ ♪♪ 21:19 >> O God, we just sang it to You. "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in 21:25 Jesus." What would we do without Him, without You? 21:32 Is that what the Sabbath's all about? It's got to be. 21:36 Oh, seal it in our hearts, this day with Jesus. We pray together in His name. 21:44 >> Amen. >> Amen. 21:46 How about a sports headline from the news three days ago? 21:51 You hip to that? This is CNN. 21:55 It's Wednesday. "An Alabama high school 21:57 basketball team say they were forced to choose faith over a 22:00 tournament game. The governor is demanding 22:02 answers." Uh-oh. Sounds serious. 22:06 Opening words -- "Oakwood Adventist Academy" -- 22:09 hey, I know that place -- "is a Seventh-Day Adventist School in 22:12 Huntsville located a hundred miles north of Birmingham. 22:14 Their men's basketball team had advanced to the semifinals of 22:17 the state tournament last week, the school's athletic director, 22:21 Calvin Morton, told CNN. 22:23 But the regional semifinal game was set for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and would interfere 22:28 with Sabbath, which is observed from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday. 22:33 Morton said he e-mailed the Alabama High School Athletic Association to ask if they could 22:38 play at 7:30 instead, after sunset, to meet their religious beliefs. 22:41 The request was denied. 'We weren't asking for a change of stadium or venue or a change 22:47 of a different day. It was a simple two or three-hour game.'" 22:50 And by the way, other teams participating stepped forward and said, "Yeah, we'll switch 22:53 with them. We'll switch with them." Request denied again. 22:58 "Morton said they had a team meeting and everyone was on the same page -- 23:01 They would forfeit. Now Governor Kay Ivey is stepping in." 23:08 And she took to Twitter, posted letters she's written to the athletic director of the state 23:15 and the principal of the school. First to the athletic director, these are her words -- "'I am 23:20 writing to express my profound concern and to get some answers about the alleged treatment of 23:26 Oakwood Adventist Academy. How can we as a state ensure that something like this never 23:31 occurs again?'" You go, Governor. And then she wrote a letter to 23:36 the principal, Principal Judy Chiles-Dent. She offers solidarity. 23:40 I quote, "The idea that a team like Oakwood could be denied a chance to compete based on its 23:46 faith without even the most modest of accommodations is deeply concerning,'" the letter 23:52 reads. "So I'm going to make it up to you." 23:54 She said, "Bring that whole team and the coaches, and you come too, Madam Principal. 23:58 You come and spend the day with me at the Capitol. Don't worry about that 24:02 tournament. We'll have a good time together." 24:05 And then at the end the release reads, "The team's senior captain, Raynon Andrews, told a 24:10 reporter they have no regrets about their decision. There is a whole Facebook 24:15 community, there are people all around the world texting parents saying how proud they are of us. 24:21 That means a lot." So what do you say to that? >> Yeah! 24:25 >> Absolutely. Put your hands together if you really are proud of these kids. 24:29 I mean, please. [ Applause ] Wow. 24:31 This is a friendly audience. If you can get an applause for standing up for the Sabbath, it 24:36 would be this audience. So, good for you. Why did those young men take the 24:40 stand they did. Because they have made a commitment to their Creator and 24:44 Savior, that's why. And if it means losing the tournament, they're going to 24:50 make sure they don't lose their connect with the God of gods and the Savior of the world. 24:57 >> Amen. >> I am so proud of them. Aren't you? 25:00 My, oh, my, oh, my. What lights those young men's fire? 25:04 I'll show it to you. It's right from the Bible. This is same Creator. 25:08 A friend of his long ago, as they're friends of the Creator. 25:11 Open your Bible to Isaiah 58. Take a look at this. My, my, my. 25:16 What a... What a promise. You finding it in your Bible? 25:22 Good for you. Isaiah 58. I'm going to read just the last 25:25 two lines of the chapter. Put it on the screen so you can follow along as well. 25:30 God speaking through his friend Isaiah. "'If you keep your feet from 25:34 breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a 25:38 delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and 25:43 not doing as you please or speaking idle words'" -- guess what -- "'then you will find 25:48 your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to 25:54 feast'" -- sounds like a party to me -- "'and to feast on the inheritance of your father 25:59 Jacob.'" For what? "The mouth of the Lord has 26:03 spoken." There it is, folks. The Sabbath. 26:07 Did you catch that -- "day of delight"? That's why that entire team 26:12 said, "No, we're not stepping out of the day of delight." And by the way, I love 26:18 that word, "delight." Twice in that passage. In fact, you remember this verse 26:23 from this from the Psalms? I know you do. Isaiah -- I mean, not Isaiah, 26:27 Psalm 37. Everybody knows this line. This is verse 4. 26:30 "Take delight" -- so it's the same word. I just wanted you to see that. 26:32 "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the" what? "The desires of your heart." 26:38 When I was a boy starting out in ministry as an intern in Roseburg, Oregon, I was 26:42 rummaging around an old cupboard in the church there, as an intern. 26:48 And there I found in the back of the cupboard a little wooden plaque, and on the plaque 26:52 were these words. And so I took that little plaque home to my very little apartment 26:57 so that little old me could claim this little promise. "Take delight in the Lord, and 27:04 he will give you the desires of your heart." I claim that promise every day, 27:08 and you know what? I'm here to tell you, it brought me Karen. 27:12 No, I'm telling you the truth. It brought me my wife. If you're not married, take a 27:17 picture quick of this line and just take it home. [ Laughter ] 27:20 Come on. It worked for me. It'll work for you. >> Amen. 27:24 >> "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." 27:28 Oh, my, that word, "delight." 27:34 The day of delight. That's what it's supposed to be. Why have we made it so hard and 27:41 bad and kind of ugly? No, this is a party day. The Sabbath is a party day. 27:46 You saw the -- we're gonna have good food. We're gonna feast together. 27:49 But you know why it's a party day? Because the life of the party is 27:53 there, and the life of the party is the Almighty God himself. "I am your forever friend." 27:58 There's no other god that will do this to you, by the way. "I will meet with you the 28:02 seventh day of every week. You and me together, just like that. 28:06 We'll party together." Day of delight. Oh, I love that. 28:11 And by the way, you can thank Jesus for teaching what I'm going to put on the screen right 28:17 now. It doesn't feel like a Jesus teaching but I'm going to show 28:20 you because it has everything to do with the Sabbath. See if you can figure it out. 28:23 This little secret about throwing a party. We all love to throw parties 28:26 together, but look at this secret. Don't forget this one. 28:35 I mean, if you're a party planner, it's not what you're doing on the day of the party. 28:39 It's what you did the day before we're only going to be talking about you if you did the day 28:42 before first, right? And Jesus says, "Guess what. That's why I'm big on the day 28:50 before." Here's a story about Jesus. You remember this? 28:53 This is Gospel of Luke. This is like on Wednesday, he'll be crucified on Friday, and it's 28:57 over. Alright? So, this is Passion Week. 28:59 Luke 22:8. "Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, saying, 'Hey, fellas, I 29:04 need you to go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.' 29:08 And so, 'Where do you want us to prepare for it?' they asked. Jesus answers, 'As you enter the 29:13 city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he 29:19 enters, and you say to the owner that house, "The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I 29:24 may eat the Passover with my disciples?" He will show you a large room 29:29 upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.' So guess what. 29:35 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared for the 29:41 Passover." What's the word that you see appearing again and again in 29:44 that little passage? What's the word? Come on, you saw it. 29:47 It's the word "prepare," "preparation." Jesus has always been big on 29:53 preparation. In fact, he's the one that invented the preparation for the 29:59 Sabbath. No, you watch. Go make preparation for us, 30:06 when it comes to the Sabbath. I mean, who doesn't love the story of of the incarnated 30:10 Christ coming down? "I'm not going to creation now. I'm going to the children of 30:13 Israel." He comes down and he offers them room service just outside 30:18 their doors every single day of the week almost. I mean, come on. 30:21 You remember the story about the manna? Everybody knows the story about 30:24 the manna. What was it called? Angel food? 30:27 I love this, by the way, description of the taste. This is Exodus 16:31. 30:39 I bet you didn't have a breakfast that good today. No, come on. 30:42 Like wafers made with honey? My, oh, my. Sign me up. 30:51 He said, "I am." He says to them, "Look it. Here's what's going to happen. 30:56 Six days of the week, these lovely, sweet waferlike flakes are going to blanket the ground. 31:00 But I want you to listen to these instructions, please. First thing every morning, 31:05 everybody gets out of the tent. Come on, up early. Up, up." 31:10 And everybody goes out to collect manna. That would be your food for the 31:13 day. Don't collect extra mannas thinking that you're going to 31:15 sleep in the next day. No, you can't do that because it will rot, it will spoil, 31:20 if you keep it. This is designed so that you have to get it every single day. 31:26 "But then on the sixth day, I need you to do this -- collect double. 31:30 Collect double the amount because on the seventh day there will be no manna. 31:35 Trust me. There will be no manna." Double the food that spoils if 31:41 you take a flake more? Yep, double on the sixth day. My, oh, my. 31:47 So, what happens? Watch this. "Nevertheless, some of the 31:51 people" -- didn't take -- didn't prepare didn't prepare. They went out on the seventh 31:55 day. How much did they get? Nada. Nothing. 31:59 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Yo, Moses, how long will you refuse to keep my commandments 32:05 and my instructions? Bear in mind,' the Lord goes on, 'that the Lord has given you the 32:10 Sabbath. That's why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. 32:14 Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day. No one's to go out,' to have to 32:19 work. So the people rested on the seventh day." 32:24 Jesus has always been big, the Creator incarnate, He has always been big on the day before the 32:30 Sabbath. You have preparation day, then you have Sabbath day. 32:33 You have preparation day, then you have Sabbath day. He invented both of them. 32:38 My! And he performs two miracles to prove -- that has God's 32:43 fingerprints all over the seventh-day Sabbath. Look at these two miracles, 32:46 in case you just missed it. Two miracles. 32:52 We're not dealing now with some kind of cyclical pattern of nature, every day this manna 32:57 shows up. No, it suddenly, mysteriously stops, and there's nothing on 33:01 the Sabbath. You can't pull that off in nature. 33:04 Somebody has His fingerprints on this. And here's the second miracle. 33:15 Now, come on. Who we dealing with here? The Creator of the universe. 33:21 If He wants to provide food this way, be our guest. And He was our guest long, long 33:27 ago. Oh, what's that line? "If you call the Sabbath a 33:32 delight... then you shall delight yourself in the Lord." 33:39 I love that. It's the day of delight. From the Garden of Eden onward, 33:45 the Creator has always intended the seventh day to be a day of delight. 33:47 And what makes it a day of delight is because of the sixth day, which is the day of 33:52 preparation. In fact, you know what? When the Creator comes to flesh 33:55 and to earth, guess what. There are only two days of the week that are actually named 33:59 in the faith community. You guessed it. Watch this. 34:02 This is Passion Week now. This is Good Friday. Okay, so, this is Jesus' dying 34:06 day. Hoo! Look at this. This is from Passion Week. 34:10 Good Friday. "It was Preparation Day" -- and I put in "Good Friday." 34:12 They didn't call it Friday back then. It was called Preparation Day. 34:15 Sixth day of the week. "It was Preparation Day [Good Friday], and the Sabbath 34:19 was about to begin." Those are the only two names in a week when Jesus was here. 34:27 Preparation day, Sabbath day. All four gospels identify these two days by name. 34:34 Preparation day, Sabbath day. Oh, there's first day. That's what you call it. 34:38 There's second day, third day, fourth day, fifth day. But when you get to the sixth 34:42 day, it's preparation day, and when you get to the seventh day. it's Sabbath day. 34:46 It was designed by the Creator. Why does He design that? Watch this. 34:52 "The secret" -- you remember this -- "The secret to a great party is not the day of the 34:58 party -- but the" -- do it out loud with me -- "but the day before the party." 35:03 That's the deal. And he's big on it. God's party, day of delight, 35:09 His Sabbath. In the beginning, Preparation day, Sabbath day. 35:14 But, oh, boy -- Houston, we have a problem. What's the problem? 35:22 If I might be utterly candid with you, the forgotten day among Sabbath keepers, 35:32 the forgotten day, is the preparation day. Oh, we got the seventh day, but 35:39 we have entirely forgotten the sixth day, called preparation day. 35:45 Hmm. And because of that, we think -- 35:51 now, here's the problem. We think that in order to avoid 35:54 work on the Sabbath, we must go out and eat on the Sabbath and 35:58 have dinner on the town. That's our conclusion. 36:00 That's what we got to do. "I'm saving work." 36:02 We have forgotten a line that we never noticed before. 36:05 How can you forget it if you've never noticed it? 36:07 Well, you'll notice it now. 36:09 It's in the Fourth Commandment, written with the finger of our beloved Creator. 36:13 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." We know that line. 36:16 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work..." We know that line too. 36:20 "...but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any 36:24 work..." We know that line as well. But keep reading. 36:27 "...neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor" --I put the italics in here -- "nor your 36:33 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns." 36:38 What's going on here? I left the last verse of the commandment out. 36:41 What's going on here? What's going on is that we think it's okay for us to not 36:49 work on the Sabbath by having our manservant and our maidservant work for us instead. 36:54 On the Sabbath. That's what we've concluded. 36:59 We've missed the italicized words. 37:02 "Nor your male or female servant." 37:03 Where you going with this, Dwight? 37:05 I'll tell you where we're going with this. 37:07 So, we go out and we pay these servants of commerce. 37:11 Servants of commerce. We're talking about the cooks, the waiters, the busboys, the 37:16 concierge. We pay them handsomely. Whether any cash passes directly 37:20 from our hands to theirs or not is not the issue. We just pay them well. 37:24 "Well, listen, Dwight, I'm actually using a credit card." "Oh, really?" 37:27 "Yeah, I'm putting it on the bill." "Oh, really?" 37:29 Picky, picky, picky. Be honest. Be honest right now with 37:36 yourself if with no one else. We are paying for others to do the work we don't want to do on 37:45 the Sabbath because it's too much of a bother. That's why. 37:50 Now, give me the logic of that. James Richard Wibberding, in his book 38:01 "Sabbath Reflections: A Weekly Devotional" makes a profound point I had never thought of 38:07 before. Maybe you haven't either. Let's check it out. Here we go. 38:12 "What do you think?" So it's a rhetorical question. "What do you think?" he asks the 38:15 reader. "Can making commercial transactions 38:18 [on the Sabbath]" -- because it's talking about in the day of Nehemiah. 38:21 He's just been dealing with it. Nehemiah, they were actually buying and selling on the 38:24 Sabbath. They just totally lost it all. "Can making commercial 38:29 transactions [on the Sabbath] harmonize with the idea of undistracted time with God?" 38:34 Can it? "I didn't think so." Of course, we agree. 38:39 "It's tempting to look at such restrictions as restrictions on your freedom." 38:43 Keep reading. "But, it is more accurate to view them as restrictions on 38:47 what keeps you from God, granting you freedom to know Him." 38:51 Keep reading now. And these italics are mine 'cause here's the sentence that 38:55 I had never thought of. "The purpose of commerce" -- and what is commerce? 38:59 It's buying and selling. When I buy, I'm bringing it to me. 39:03 When I sell, I sell my time, and then I get paid for the time I sell. 39:05 "The purpose of commerce [buying or selling] is self-preservation." 39:10 Isn't that why we buy? Yeah. I want to live. We buy, buy, buy, buy. 39:14 "Sabbath reminds you that God preserves you. Sabbath teaches trust." 39:23 Now, I want you to brood on that for a moment. Just look at that italicized 39:27 line. Oh, that's something. What is that again? 39:34 "The purpose of commerce [buying or selling] is self-preservation. 39:37 Sabbath reminds you and me that God preserves us. Sabbath teaches trust." 39:45 That is the most succinct but comprehensive case against buying and selling, against 39:50 purchasing and working on the Sabbath, I have ever read. In that one sentence. 39:58 You say, "Yeah, but, Dwight, I got to eat. Don't you understand? 40:00 I got to eat." Of course, you have to eat. But you don't have to go out to 40:04 eat on the Sabbath. That's what the preparation day is for. 40:10 "Yeah, but I forgot to prepare." Well, don't tell me about that. Wait a minute, wait a minute. 40:18 You're traveling or whatever. Or you're here at home. Would it be so bad to miss a 40:24 meal on the Sabbath? I mean, I'm looking at you. I'm thinking we could probably 40:30 get by without a meal even if we forgot to prepare, right? "Yeah, but, Dwight, it's not 40:37 just about preparing. I mean, I have to work. I have to earn a living, and it 40:42 includes working on the Sabbath." Okay. 40:45 At least you're honest. I want to ask you a question. Can He not -- speaking of God -- 40:49 can He not find a job where you don't have to work on the Sabbath in order to honor Him? 40:53 Or are his arms so short He doesn't know what to do? This is too big a problem for 40:58 Him? Come on. Do you trust Him? 41:01 "Dwight, do you trust me?" Good question, Lord. Wow. 41:10 "Yo, Dwight, do you eat out on the Sabbath?" I don't. 41:17 But in the past, there were times I did. And now that I've been exposed 41:25 to this italicized line on the screen in front of you, I realize now that if I must 41:35 explain myself when someone says, "Hey, come join us. We're going to go out and eat," 41:39 on the Sabbath, I have a simple reason to express my conviction. And it will not be a judgment on 41:48 them. Who am I to judge? It's a decision on my part. 41:54 Like the basketball team, okay? A bunch of teenagers. It's a decision like that. 42:00 I make the decision. As those young men did. And I say I can't. 42:07 Doesn't make me a hero. Don't pin a little badge on me that I wear to church the next 42:12 day. It has nothing to do with that. It's my friendship with God. 42:17 That takes priority on His day. >> Amen. >> He gave me six others, and He 42:22 also gave me the day before. "Yo, Dwight, what were you thinking? 42:25 You wasted all of Friday." Huh. Wow. 42:32 Walter Brueggemann, in his book "Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of 42:39 Now," oh, boy, is he right. 42:46 Gimme, gimme, buy, buy! Click, click! Amazon! 42:50 Click, click, click, click! More, please! Amazon Prime! 42:53 Click, click, click, click, click! He's right. 43:20 That's what our society has to offer us in the end. The truth be told -- 43:29 It is conformity to culture and the crowd that leads us not to remember the Sabbath day, to 43:39 keep it holy. That's it. Not some evil, sinister force. 43:44 No. It's the force of culture. It's the force of the crowd. 43:48 "Come on, go with me. We're gonna do this now." I think of those teenage jocks. 43:58 Wow. Don't you suppose that team felt the pressure of and the pull of 44:04 culture and the crowd as they took their stand? I mean, semifinals. 44:08 You going to go for the finals. You're that good. No, never mind sports. 44:16 The very purpose of the preparation day, Friday, is to make nonessential commerce -- 44:22 that's buying and selling -- on the Sabbath day, make it nonessential. 44:27 You don't have to have it. There's a day before. Do all the buying and selling 44:33 you want the day before. That's why God instructs us to take advantage of the 44:37 preparation day, so we don't have to go out on the Sabbath to fill up our stomachs or to fill 44:43 up our cars or to fill up our shopping bags or to fill up our hunger for entertainment, our 44:51 thirst for sports -- to just fill it up like we do the other six days of the week. 44:57 He said, "No, no, no no, no, no no. Big T -- basketball time -- big 45:03 T. Time-out. You and me." 45:09 That's all. Can't He ask for a time-out? You do. 45:15 They do. Oh, day of delight. Read it. 45:20 "'If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy 45:24 day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable'" -- and by the way, 45:28 somebody had been listening to those two words, they say, "Well, you're right about the 45:31 preparation day. That's the sixth day. And you're right about the 45:34 seventh day. But, Dwight, you forgot the Lord's day," mentioned in 45:37 Revelation, only once in the Bible. Revelation 1:10. 45:40 You say, "That's Sunday." No, it's not Sunday. He just tells us right here. 45:43 He just says the Sabbath is the Lord's holy day. There is only one Lord's Day. 45:48 You can call it whatever you want, the next day. It doesn't make it the Lord's 45:52 day. He has one day, and it's the seventh day. 45:54 And there's a day before it. It's the preparation day. Day of delight. 46:00 Keep reading. "'...and if you honor that day and God by not going your own 46:04 way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words then" -- quid pro quo -- "then you will 46:09 find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the 46:14 land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.' 46:17 For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Day of delight. 46:21 Does it really work? Listen, let me let our friend Jane Thayer kind of slip into 46:28 our conversation right now. She sent me this a bunch of weeks ago, but I want you to 46:34 hear it. So, this is one -- grown up in our midst. 46:37 She's been a part of this university community, she and Jerry. 46:40 Anyway, she says in this letter to me -- and I asked her permission to share it. 46:45 She says in this letter -- you know, I went to this thing that the women's ministry put on. 46:49 Yolande Robertson and Jo Ann Davidson, they had this beautiful weekend on how to 46:54 celebrate the Sabbath. We're having worship over here, and they packed out that 46:57 Seminary Chapel. Good for them. So, she's there, and she said, 47:00 "I was really fascinated with this idea, inspired about doing something special to begin 47:04 the Sabbath. So, I knew that my son Scott was coming and he was bringing -- 47:10 and his wife and his two kids and they're coming to spend the weekend with us, and I decided, 47:14 'I'm going to do something.'" So, on Friday, she ordered -- well, she a little earlier in 47:19 the week she ordered a simple but beautiful soup tureen, glass votive candle holders, and 47:25 LED tea lights. Then, Friday morning, she takes her two 11-year-old 47:28 grandchildren with her to Bit of Swiss. You ever been to Bit of Swiss, 47:31 Stevensville? Oh, boy. Very good. But anyway she goes there and 47:35 buys -- she says, "We bought a few goodies, and then we bought the challah bread." 47:40 You know the twisted bread, the twisted bread? They bought that. 47:44 Then she told her son what she she was going to do. She said, "I'm gonna have a 47:48 prayer blessing when we have this little candlelight welcome to the Sabbath. 47:52 Would you mind? You pray over your children. I'm going to pray over you and 47:58 Erica." Okay. Scott told her, he said, "I've 48:04 been wondering if there's something special I could do" -- this is a young adult, now -- 48:07 "if I could do on the Sabbath to make it special as it begins. 48:10 Let's do it." "When the kids came up with their hands wash for supper, 48:12 they walked into the dining room and were surprised. At this point, we all lit our 48:16 candles which were placed at each setting. I explained to the children 48:19 about the prayers of blessings. Scott prayed over his kids. I blessed Erica and Scott. 48:22 I had made notes of what to say because I knew I would get a little emotional." 48:26 I'm sure, Mom. "I cannot tell you" -- now, these are her words -- "I cannot 48:32 tell you how special, holy -- yes, holy" -- H-O-L-Y -- "I cannot tell you how holy that 48:38 time around the table was. The kids loved pulling that challah bread apart. 48:45 And the interesting thing was the specialness of Sabbath continued through the evening." 48:51 That's it! When you prepare for it, the whole day is different. 48:56 Why? Because this is party time. It's the day before the party 49:00 that counts. That's what's going on. "Yeah, Dwight, what's your point 49:04 to me?" My point to you is simple. You can do it too. 49:06 Don't give me this business about, "Well, I don't have the book." 49:09 You don't need instructions. You don't even need candles and the challah bread. 49:13 But you need to prepare in advance. And it's going to be a day with 49:17 you and your forever friend. So, what are you going to do? Well, I would suggest you get 49:21 music that you and Jesus enjoy. So, you play that music as the Sabbath's beginning. 49:25 You might want to read a few Bible passages. You may buy some kind of 49:28 inspirational book where you'll read a chapter a week and just kind of work your way 49:32 through the book. Do whatever your heart tells you will honor you and the Creator 49:39 together. And you love it. And by the way, if you try it, 49:46 send me a note, will you? Tell me what you did. Just send me a note, and I'll 49:51 celebrate with you. I'm proud of you. The Sabbath is a day of a 49:55 delight. That's God's point. How we prepare for it makes all 49:58 the difference in the world. One more time. Remember, what's the great law? 50:08 That's what makes the party so great. Yeah. 50:12 In closing, from my favorite book, "Desire of Ages," this sentence. 50:28 Isn't that beautiful? What was it we've been reading? 50:38 They have said that of Israel this sentence was spoken. I'm going to put the sentence in 50:43 of you in just a second. They have said of Israel this sentence has been spoken. 50:48 But as I look at that sentence, I think that sentence might be 50:52 true about you and me and our faith community called the 50:56 Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Here's the sentence. 51:11 Wow. That's pretty good. 51:18 Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, there is a major 51:25 crisis coming, and it will have everything to do about the 51:32 Sabbath. 51:36 If we fudge, if we fail to keep it holy now when we have it so easy, we will never keep it in 51:50 the heart of that crisis. The quizzes are now. The test is coming. 51:59 Don't miss next week. We end the series. Don't miss next week. 52:06 Let's pray. O God, for the day of delight Your Sabbath, we thank You. 52:17 And for the day before the day of delight, we humbly ask You to help us remember it too so that 52:27 we too can remember to keep the Sabbath holy with joy with Jesus. 52:36 Amen. >> Amen. >> When I was growing up as a 52:40 kid, we sang a song. My mother did. She'd lead out in it. 52:44 Oh, you're gonna hear it now. It's gonna bring tears to my eyes. 52:50 It's an old song about the Sabbath. I want you to sing the song, 52:56 read the words on the screen. Singers, come on out. 53:00 I'm gonna put this number up there. 53:02 "Banner6" -- If you'll text it to that phone number that's now 53:06 our go-to number -- 269-281-2345. 53:12 I got something in that next step that I'd like to send you, 53:15 but you need to click it. You need to say, "I want you to 53:18 send that, Dwight." If you click it, I'll send it 53:20 to you. Now, come on. 53:22 Pretend like you're having Friday evening worship in our 53:25 little house in Japan. I'm glad you're here for 53:28 worship right now. [ "Holy Sabbath Day of Rest" 53:31 begins ] 56:09 Holy Sabbath, rest by our God divinely blessed. I pray that you have been 56:17 divinely blessed today by our worship and that it will buoy 56:22 your spirits up as you go throughout the rest of the week. Now for the benediction. 56:29 Arise, shine for your light is come the glory of the Lord, 56:37 shines upon you, your Lord is your everlasting light, 56:43 your God is your glory. Amen. Have a good week and have 56:51 a blessed rest of the Sabbath. 57:00 >> One of the hot debates on this planet today is this 57:02 collective conversation about creation versus evolution. 57:05 While there are there a thousand voices offering their 57:08 perspectives, the truth is that in God's Word there are some 57:11 pretty definitive statements. In fact, I examine those 57:14 statements and the evidence for creation in a little book I 57:17 wrote, "Creation and Evolution," subtitle, " A Thoughtful Look at 57:20 the Evidence That a Master Designer Created Our Planet." 57:23 I'd love for you to join the conversation and check out the 57:26 evidence for yourself. If fact, if you'll call our 57:29 toll-free number, 877-HIS-WILL, the two words "HIS WILL," 57:33 I'll make sure one of these books, at no charge to you, is 57:35 in the mail. The number again -- 57:37 877-HIS-WILL. Let the operator know 57:40 you want the book "Creation and Evolution," and 57:44 we'll get it in the mail to you as soon as possible. 57:46 Until we're together again right here on "New Perceptions" next 57:49 week, may the grace, the peace, and the hope of the Creator 57:55 abide with you. 57:58 ♪♪ ♪♪ 58:18 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-03-09